Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-12
PROHIBITION IN IOWA.
Attorney General Baker Tells How Pro-
hibition Has Blessed the Hawkeye

hlDttiOn Has blessed the Hawkeye
State.
From the Des Moines Register.
Many inquiries have been sent to this
State by persons in Texas who desire in
formation on the effects of Iowa's expert
ment with prohibition. The enemies of
prohibition are circulating all manner of
falshoods about the result of the law here,
and are trusting to the distance from the
State for them to escape exposure. The
following letter was written by Attorney
General Baker in response to an honest in
quiry for information, and it very efectu-
ally dispeses Of some of the stock stories
which the anti-prohibitionists have been
States:
E. G. Pendleton, Esq. Austin, Texas:
DEAR S1R-Your letter Of the 28th ult.
is at hand, enclosing circular rejecting
on the manner in which prohibition is en-
forced in Iowa, and particularly on the con-
duct Of Constables Potts and Pierce in
making seizures and arrests under said
law. l am also in receipt of copy of the
Bolton TEX journal Of the 23d Of June,
in which is letter written by William H.
Merritt, postmaster at Des Moines, Iowa.
You ask me to say whether or not the letter
Of the postmaster is correct statement of
the facts or is misleading" will give
you the facts as they really are and you
and your people can best judge Of the true
character Of the postmaster's letter.
Mr.. Merritt says in his letter that the
effect of prohibition in Iowa has been to
ARRAY neighborhood against neighbornood,
citizen against citizen, and has proved de-
society,"" The good Postmaster drew very
largely on his imagination when making
that statement. have never heard Of any
neighborhoods in the Stal> that have been
arrayed against each other over prohibition
or anything else. 1t has arrayed some citi-
zens against some other citizens; that's, the
saloon element have on various occasions
endeavored by force, violence, mobs,
and murders to prevent the enforcement Of
the law. That class of citizens have been
arrayed against the citizens who have f,l-
vored obedience to law. 1t will certainly
be so in Texas if Prohibition is adopted.
The saloon power has no regard for law
and order. They live and thrive on disor-
der and violence, and you may as we'll
brace your nerves to the inevitable fight
against the world, the flesh, and the devil
when you attempt to suppress tue saloon.
The Postmaster says the enforcement
has worked serious loss to the people.
If it is loss to city like Des Moines to
get rid Of more than one hundred Of the
most vile dens of iniquity that ever cursed
a city, and have the old houses where the
three and four story brick blocks built on
the site and filed with good men in legiti-
mate business, then Des Moines has suf-
fered loss by enforcing prohibition, for
that is what has occurred here. If it is q
loss to the State to have the rate of police
arrests diminished from two to three hun
bred per cent, then Des Moines has suf-
fered loss by closing the saloons, for such
has been the result here. Sheriff Painter,
the present Sheriff of this county, gives
the following information: "There are now
but four persons in the jail, whereas in
saloon times the average was thirty (30);
during the term of court just closed
the Sheritf's fees in serving criminal
warrants. subpenas, etc., have fallen
short of former terms by one thou
sand dollars. There has been no convict
sent to the penitentiary by the court just
adjourned. Under the saloon rule the
number ran from eight to sixteen each
term. Such was the case, as am also IN
formed by ex-Sheritf Littleton, during his
term. And there are at least ten thousand
more population in Des Moines now than
during his term of Office. At the last term
Of the Supreme Court there was not o
criminal appeal from this county, some-
thing that has not before occurred during
my Term of Office. Sheriff Pal inter- says:
prohibition is running my business. I
guess he is the man our worthy Postmaster
had been talking to just before he wrote
his letter. I know of no other business
that has been ruined by the enforcement
of prohibition, except that of criminal
lawyers, Sheriffs, and saloonkeepers. Yes,
I will also include gambling houses-they
have been very seriously affected.
Emigration to Iowa has not ceased by
any means. The State is prosperous and
the people peaceable and more law-abid-
ing than at any time in its history.
There has been good, healthy influx Of